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I really like this video telling the story of how Deep Purple came to write their epic hit “Smoke on the Water”. Maybe it’s because it is one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar. The video has a great look to it and the story is compelling enough to draw you in and keep you engaged until the end. What I don’t get is why the marketing team for Genesis cars thought this would be solid advertising for them. There is no connection between the band, the song, the story or the car. There isn’t even a car in the story, so who thought this was a good way to sell cars? At the end of the video there is the tag line “Inspired by Genesis”. Are they trying to say our cars are so great they are like a casino burning to the ground at the end of a Frank Zappa concert? It just seems like it is the wrong message. This kind of reminds me of Disney using Iggy Pop’s “Lust For Life” to advertise family cruises, or Lee Jeans using Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Senator’s Son” to sell jeans without actually listening to the lyrics in the songs.

Perhaps the marketing department was looking for a long shot and thought if enough people talk about the fact that this makes no sense we will actually move some automobiles. Maybe someone at Genesis is a huge Deep Purple fan. Great video though. Solid story, great animation, nice look from rom Great Big Story.

This Sunday marks the 100th running of the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and to commemorate the event, Firestone has produced a special tire. Firestone announced this version of the Firehawk racing tire back on February 19th of this year, at the 100-day mark prior to the Indy 500.

The special edition tire has bright red sidewall markings of the brand-name and logo, as well as every driver’s name who has won the 500 using Firestone tires. In all, that number stands at 66 spanning back to Ray Harroun in the first 500 in 1911 and up to the current champion Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015. The tire’s visual design is visually refined by the inclusion of red “F-shield” logos at 90 degree offsets to the red Firestone name, and the 100th Running logo created by the Speedway to commemorate the century mark. The winners’ names are listed in chronological order from Harroun forward, along the sidewall in high-contrast white ink and stand out from the black sidewalls with great definition.

It’s this kind of thing that makes me love graphic design. Yes I know this is a splendid piece of promotional marketing, but in the end someone had to design this. A graphic designer, and an art director for sure. Probably a committee had some say in the final executed result. It doesn’t matter how we got here, its the fact that someone thought about this little detail, and executed it so well. I can’t wait to see every car lined up wearing these shoes tomorrow.

I’m not going to bash the Tesla Model 3. I like the idea of the electric car, and I like the innovation that Tesla is doing with their vehicles. I am going to do a little math though. Why? Because it’s Friday and everyone loves math on Friday’s.

So Telsa has 325,000 pre-orders for the Model 3. That is 325,000,000 dollars given them to hopeful buyers that are willing to wait for a new car, and wait they will and here is why. “Time.”

There is only so many hours in the day, and you can only assemble a car so fast. With a launch date set for “Late 2017” the first cars won’t start rolling off the assembly line for 19 months from now at the soonest. Now, let’s look at that 325,000 order number and divide it out over time.

Say Tesla sets a moderate time frame of 48 months to build all 325,000 Model 3’s.

325,000 divided by 48 months equals 6,770 a month. 6770 divided by 30 equals 225 a day. Which is about 9.5 cars an hour.

The Ford F150 is one of the most popular vehicles in America. In comparison Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant produces about 1,250 of these trucks every day it operates. or roughly 62.5 trucks assembled by 1000 people over a 20 hour shift. (I see Tesla hiring a boat load of assembly line workers. Don’t forget Tesla will have to train them all and that adds even more time to the problem)

Now let’s revise our numbers a bit. Let’s say half of the 325 thousand drop out of the race to get a Model 3. How many would Tesla still have to crank out and at what rate? So, 162,500 Model 3’s over 48 months.

162, 500 divided by 48 months equals 3,385 a month. 3,385 or about 112 cars a day, if Tesla works 30 days a month, 24 hours a day. so 4.75 cars an hour every month for 48 months non stop to reach total demand. And that doesn’t include production of the Model S and Model X. That folks is a tall order, and remember they do not have a dedicated plant to built the Model 3 in yet.

I’m not saying Tesla can’t do it, or won’t do it. I’m just thinking it’s going to be a while after late 2017 before some people see their Model 3 and quite a bit can change in the next 3 to 4 years. I wonder if we’ll have flying electric cars by 2020?

Like this:

The video below shows how post production can make a video. Directed by Allesandro Pacciani this spot for BMW’s M4 is a masterful blend of live action shots, post production CG, clever editing, and sound design. The M4 was shot on a racetrack that had been specially prepared for the shoot. The environment is a refinery is all fake 3D modeling that is highly detailed and filled with hundreds of CG lights. The lights had to be mapped and rendered on to the car in post, the track had to be stripped away and replaced in post, and the entire piece had to be finished in a way that feels real. The result is a spectacular 30 second spot for BMW. Pacciani has created a dark and moody spot that highlights the performance of the M4 as it navigates through a foggy, mysterious environment, all in a 21 x 9 aspect ratio for cinematic effect.

At the beginning of the spot there is a clever tag, “This content is Rated M” appealing to those who know BMW. There spot is steeped in BMW’s racing heritage which helps sells the power of the car to the intended audience. There is a video game quality to this that will appeal to a younger audience that aspires to own an M4 as well as an established audience that still plays games like Forza and can afford the car now. Solid advertising without the need for a single voice over or hard sell line.

A couple of weeks back I was approached a couple of weeks back to do a set of 3 illustrations of classic sports cars at a fixed price. Direction was specific about the view being straight ahead from the front of the car. The end goal was that these were going to be used in a printed calendar, and after the first 3, I’d get 9 more to work on.

Unfortunately I fell victim to the bait and switch tactic of would you rather do these on spec, or for free, for a ton of exposure, and a possible cut of the profits. The thing is I don’t work for free, and unfortunately the clients proposal left me flat. So, I decided to say thanks but no thanks, keep my files and go back to my office.

The thing is though, it got me all inspired, so I did 12 more over the course of a couple weeks, and shared a few on social media. Now, I’m releasing them to the world. I really don’t have any interest in making money off of these. It was a fun little exercise with Adobe Illustrator that I feel good about. Each image is sized for the iPhone 6 screen resolution.

All I ask is if you download them and use them, give credit where credit is due. Let people know I am the guy that made these. Don’t resell them to make money and don’t take my name off of them. Tell people where you got them, and ask them to respect the same request about selling and credit.

A year ago Johnnie Walker Blue released an online short film titled Gentleman’s Wager. The film featured Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini, a big budget and some serious production value. Like other big brands Johnnie Walker’s foray into the long format online commercial was a winner. To follow it up they have released the second short film, and like last year where the bet was for Giannini’s rare yacht, this year it is for a rare Italian sports car.

The new 11-minute film, is another wager, this time starting at Giannini’s beautiful Italian palazzo, and a road race from just south of Rome to Monaco.

Along the way Law meets a beautiful woman, played by Chinese actress Zhao Wei and helps her fix her car. He breaks down on several occasions, and arrives in Monaco with moments to spare. In addition to Zhoa, there are cameos by Formula 1 heroes Mika Häkkinen and Jenson Buttonas well.

Like the first film, this one was once again directed by Jake Scott through RSA. The film is gorgeously shot in the world of the uber rich, and the production value is just as good as the first. Once again we have a big budget production exclusively for the internet, and while some might say this is a huge risk, I think this kind of storytelling to extend the brand is going to pay off.

Nothing gets me going more then when multiple thing I am interested in come together at the same time. For instance, Graphic Design, Film, Automotive Design, and Industrial Design. In this case it is one of the latest books from Gestalten, the topic, and the support film released on their website.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! is a record of limited edition, history making vehicles, and industrial design finessed into rolling art. All of this is packaged in a beautifully designed book that is filled with show stopping photography, type, and page layouts. Jared Zaugg and the team at Bonhams have put together a book that gives the reader a true sense of the intensity of true automobile culture, representing it in a large format designed to showcase the forms and details of these classics.

The short video below is a wonderfully shot and edited piece that highlights the contributors to the book, the cars themselves, and the the content that fills the pages. With each short film they release the crew at Gestalten gets better and better at their craft. The video itself really does a fantastic job of selling the story behind the book, and the book itself.

“The book features a selection of models that go far beyond mere technical stats and gleaming chrome. Rather, they all offer something far more valuable: compelling stories. These include the rare and uniquely configured Lamborghini Miura SV Coupe purchased by rock star Rod Stewart. Or the Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe from 1937 that, after the owner’s death, was rediscovered by his family sitting exactly as he left it nearly a half-century earlier. All the big names are included, but the focus is on what can be found behind the logos and the polished surfaces.”